


Home

by PrincessMuk



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Going to Earth, M/M, Pidge | Katie Holt Angst, Platonic Relationships, Slow burn Klance, The Garla are jerks, Where the quiznack is Shiro, alternate season 3, people die, slow burn in general, the plot is confusing, unoriginal title, updates are taking forever I'm sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-07 23:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11634264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessMuk/pseuds/PrincessMuk
Summary: Lance has anxiety. Keith doesn't know how to lead. Pidge misses her family. Hunk feels unappreciated. Coran is just sad, and Allura doesn't know how much more of this she can take. What do they have in common?They all just want to go home. (Abandoned)





	1. Anxiety

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Emma :)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Emma+%3A%29).



> Hello! This is my first Voltron fanfiction on AO3, and I am really excited to share it with you all! This is a very slow burn, oops. The chapters will be uploaded frequently at first since I've been writing this for a while now, but there may be a longer waiting period in between chapters down the road. Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the team grieves the loss of Shiro, Lance has an anxiety attack, and Keith helps out. The thing is . . . Keith might also be having some trouble.

* * *

  _Seven hours_

* * *

Keith's footsteps echoed across the dark hallway as he made his way towards his room. He had been training for a lot longer than he'd intended . . . But he had to get out all of that turmoil. All of his rage, his sadness . . . nothing like punching a training robot to let it all out.

Since they had discovered Shiro missing from his cockpit, Keith just couldn't calm down. He'd been keeping track of the hours since their leader had been proclaimed missing. Now, it was about . . . seven. Seven hours. He had been training for five.

They had to find him. They _had_ _to._ Not only was he the leader of the Paladins, a group of pilots destined to save the universe from the Galra race, but he had also become like a father figure to them all. Especially Keith. (Well, more of a brother, but that wasn't important.)

Now, as Keith walked down an empty hallway of their home ship, passing by the other Paladins' rooms, hearing loud snores or just the silence of sleep, he swore he could hear something . . . else. The sound was muffled, and very faint, but Keith heard it. It was coming from the room next to his, whose door was open just a crack . . . Lance's room.

Lance was . . . pretty annoying. Well, most of the time he was. He just always acted like he was _so cool . . ._ like he knew everything. He prided himself in being the first Paladin, the Blue Paladin, though he was nowhere _near_ being the leader. That was Shiro's job. Now, it was Keith's.

Lance wasn't all that bad, though. Somehow he had gotten the idea in his head that he and Keith had some sort of rivalry. Which, after saving the universe together (or so they hoped they had done seven hours ago), they sort of did. This meant Lance was always one-upping Keith, even denying any bonding moments they had. So yeah, Keith had never really gotten close to him. But, that didn't necessarily mean they hated each other.

And none of that meant Keith couldn't _try_ to be his friend.

Keith listened closer to the noise. It was . . . crying? Lance was crying. He couldn't spy any longer. He had to enter. Slowly, Keith opened the door, peering into the room. It was cleaner than Keith had expected, the only thing showing a sign of living there being Lance's jacket strewn across the floor.

Lance's head jerked towards the doorway as he heard it open, tears streaked down his face. HIs usual _I-woke-up-perfect_ hair was clinging to his wet face in random clumps, making him look like even more of a mess. His entire face seemed paler, his eyes puffy and red with bags beginning to form under them. He was hugging himself, his knees up to his chest, as he stared at Keith like a deer in a headlight.

"Um . . . " Keith froze for a moment, feeling like he was intruding. Maybe this was the wrong decision? "A-are you okay?" he asked anywahys, his voice soft.

Lance nodded, wiping his face with the back of his hand, "yeah . . . "

Knowing that was a lie, Keith hesitantly took the few risky steps to Lance's bed. He sat down next to him, posture straighter than usual. His shoulders were tense, actually, everything was tense. For some reason, this was a tense situation.

Lance stared at him for a moment, his eyes wide as moons. His mouth was open slightly, soft breaths filling the silence of the moment before he looked away, his profile clearly visible by the dim light he had kept on.

"I miss Earth."

The sudden confession surprised Keith. Sure, Lance had mentioned it once before, the day the Paladins had "saved" the Erusians, only to be bombed during the celebration (which caused Lance to go into a coma for about two days). Since then, though, he hadn't touched the subject.

Before Keith could respond, Lance continued, "I miss the ocean . . . I miss the rain, the sunsets, my family."

Tentatively, Keith touched Lance's shoulder, which tensed and made Lance spin his head towards Keith once again. "We all miss Earth . . . space is so crazy. But we can't go back yet. We have a mission, and we have to find Shiro."

Lance nodded, but the frown on his face told Keith he wasn't convinced.

"I'm not cut out to be a Paladin . . . " Lance said, looking down. "I'm . . . I'm not like you guys. I'm not _cool_. I suck at piloting . . . I can't shoot something even if it's right in front of me . . . I'm just a  . . . a seventh wheel. The guy nobody wants around . . . "

Keith didn't know what to say. He'd never considered that Lance could feel this way . . . not with the cocky exterior he so easily fooled everyone with.

"Lance," he started, not sure where he was going with this. "You . . . you _are_ cool, in your own way. You don't need to compare yourself to us."

"That's just what people say to idiots who want to be unique." Lance huffed.

"No, it's true. You . . . _you_ were the one Blue accepted. I was _so_ jealous of you when we found her. I-I had spent so long looking for her, and then you just waltzed right in and took her." Keith spoke softly, every word carefully planned out.

"You were . . . jealous of me?" Lance repeated, as if unsure of what Keith had said.

"Yeah, I was. But . . . you piloted that thing like you were _born_ to do it." Keith gave a soft, yet fond smile. "So, I started . . . admiring you instead."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you." Keith's smile widened. "And Lance, you aren't a seventh wheel, okay? We all want you around. We . . . we love you."

Where had _that_ come from?

"Really?" Lance smiled hopefully, looking down at his hands.

"Yeah," Keith's was now smiling from ear to ear, "hey, look at me." Keith lifted Lance's head up gently.

Lance's cheeks were dusted a light pink, barely noticable in the darkness. His blue eyes almost seemed to sparkle, the puffyness barely there. Stray hairs blocked his sight, but the rest framed his face nicely. He brushed the hairs out of the way, blinking as if to remind Keith that time was still passing, though the moment seemed like it lasted hours.

"You are awesome." Keith put it simply.

"You too, Keith . . . " Lance said, his normally cocky nature returning.

Keith then realized his hand was still grasping Lance's chin. He also realized that he was now much closer to Lance than he had been when the conversation first started. So, with a goofy smile, he got up and walked to the door.

"Thanks," Lance said, his tone soft and sincere.

"No problem. It 's what friends are for."

And as Keith walked away, he could hear Lance, every so slightly, whisper, "friends . . . ?"

* * *

_Fifteen hours_

* * *

 

When Keith woke up the next morning (the castle had its own timezone set up for the Paladins' comfort), his mind was immedietaly on tow things: Shiro, and Lance. Almost instantly, the memories of last night flooded back.

He had to admit, there was a lot more depth to Lance than Keith had originally thought. He really was a good Paladin, even if he didn't seem to believe it deep down. Maybe that was why he always acted like he wasy the best. Fake it 'till you make it, right?

Half of him wanted to check on Lance before he did anything else, but Keith doubted Lance would want to bring his break-down up again. The last time Lance had opened up about missing Earth (though not the other stuff), he had excused himself almost immediately. Besides, it wasn't like Lance had _chosen_ to open up last night. At least, not to him specifically. Keith had just . . . let himself in.

Still groggy from the morning, Keith dragged himself out of his warm bed. He walked slowly to his bathroom, barely registering how horrible he looked. HIs hair was a mess. He had large circles under his eyes, probably since he had trained for five hours right after a large battle.

Keith rubbed his eyes as he grabbed his comb. He combed his hair back into its usual mullet, smiling ever so slightly at the improvement. After a moment, he sighed. If only finding Shiro could be as easy as fxing his hair . . .

He set down his comb, stomach grumbling. "I better go to breakfast . . ." he said to himself.

Keith walked sluggishly inot the hallway, waving to Hunk as he walked towards the dining room as well. Keith sped up his pace slightly as to walk next to him.

"Morning, Keith," Hunk smiled, though his expression was anything but happy.

"Morning."

"So . . . " Hunk started, very obviously hesitant.

"Is . . . is there something you want to talk about?" Keith asked bluntly.

Hunk's eyes slanted slightly, as if he was contemplating something. After a moment, he looked at Keith. "What are we going to do? I mean, you're the leader now, right?"

"Um, yeah, that . . . that's what Shiro told me."

"Well, what if Zarkon comes back? We can't form Voltron . . . w-what if we--"

Hunk was obviously getting nervous, which was pretty normal fo rhim, but Keith still had to help calm him down.

"Hunk, we're going to be _fine_. We'll _find_ Shiro, and then we'll be ready for anything."

"But . . . what if we can't find Shiro? What if he's--"

"He's _not_."

Hunk looked at Keith for a moment, his expression a mix of disbelief and hope. Before either of them could respond, however, they reached the dining room.

"Let's just eat, okay?" Keith said.

Hunk just nodded.

Inside the dining room sat a rather . . .puffy looking Allura. Keith suspected Lance hadn't been the only one crying last night . . . Next to her was Coran, who was poking at his food goo absentmindedly. Opposite to him was PIdge, rubbing her glasses on her shirt. She averted her gaze from them for some reason, but Coran and Allura looked at them as they entered with saddened expressions.

"Hello, Paladins," Allura forced a strained smile.

"What's the status on . . . the mission?" Keith asked, unmoving from his spot in the doorway.

Allura sighed, "we're trying to track his suit, since he's without his LIon, but so far there's nothing. We can only scan one planet at a time since we have such a small target, which will take a _lot_ longer than our usual tracking . . . "

Keith nodded as he leaned against the wall. "Okay. I can help you search later today . . . "

Hunk went to sit down, helping himself to a large bowl of food goo. "Training again?"

Keith nodded.

"Keith, there _is_ such a thing as too much training. I don't want you to--"

"I know my limits, Allura. But until Shiro gets back, _I'm_ the leader of Voltron," the words felt wrong leaving his mouth, "so I need to be ready."

Allura nodded half-heartedly, "still, _please_ be careful."

Hunk poked PIdge, who was now furiously scribbling something down on a piece of notebook paper. Pidge jumped, her glasses falling down to the tip of her nose as she jerked her head towards Hunk.

"You gonna eat that?" Hunk asked sheepishly, seemingly sorry for startling PIdge as he pointed at her untouched plate of food goo.

"Um, no," Pidge adjusted her glasses. "You can have it."

"Aw, sweet." Hunk smiled, taking her plate. "Thanks."

Pidge smiled back slightly, "no problem."

"Hey,' Keith began slyly, "anyone seen Lance?"

Pidge looked at Keith, "since when do _you_ care aobut _Lance_?"

"I care about all my teammates," Keith tried.

"But you _never_ seek Lance out directly," Pidge countered, crossing her arms. "Or any of us, for that matter."

"Look, I just asked if anyone's seen, him, okay?"

"Well, I _haven't_ seen him." Pidge looked down.

"Perhaps he's still asleep?" Allura suggested.

"Maybe . . . " Keith's gaze trailed along the floor. "I'm gonna go . . . train . . . "

"Okay," Coran said.

"See ya later, Keith," Hunk waved.

Pidge just gritted her teeth, slinking further into her chair.

Not _too_ quickly, Keith exited the room with a small wave, heading not towards the training room, but towards the bedrooms. More specifically, Lance's room. He sped up his pace as he neared the room, thrn came up to a stop. He hesitantly knowcked on the door, which opened at his touch. No Lance there.

A bit worried, Keiht headed towards the training deck. Though he doubted it, Keith couldn't help but fear the worst. First Shiro, now Lance. _No._ Shiro was gone because of some freak power surge, or because he was transported by the Galra or something. But nothing had gotten into the castle, Keith was sure of it. _Nothing_ happened to Lance.

Sure enough, as Keith entered the large glass room overlooking the training deck, there was Lance, right in the middle of slicing up some training robots. He seemed tired, yet very resillient. He jabbed his Bayard into the last one, breathing heavily.

Keith pressed the intercom button, smiling a bit, "nice work, Lance."

Startled, Lance looked up at the rom, "oh, Keith, hey." Lance's posture relaxed slightly, "you need the room?"

Keith shrugged, "nah, it's cool. I'll just wait until you're done . .  " Lance didn't need to know that Keith was looking for him. Not yet, anyways. And though he _did_ intend to get some training in, he was perfectly content to sit and watch Lance for a while.

"Well, I need to take a break, anyways . . . I've been training for . . . " Lance spared a look at the clock in the high corner of the room, "two vargas, not bad . . . "

Keith tried to hide his surprise. Lance never trained for that long.

"Mind if I join you up there?"

"What?" Keith blinked. "Oh, sure."

Lance smiled slightly, "cool. I'll be right up!"

He disappeared into the door under Keith, which left Keith to admire the room for a moment. Lance entered soon after he had gone, which was a bit unusal for him to do (outside of battle, of course) His enterance was over-flowing with his usual cocky atittude, though he looked more tired than usual. Still, due to all the face masks he put on every night, he didn't have bags under his eyes like Keith did.

"So, did you eat yet?" Lance asked, starting off the conversation light.

"No, I was . . . occupied."

"With what?"

"Umm . . . " Keith stalled, "j-just coming to find the training deck . . . and stuff . . . "

"But you'be been here like a hundered times. You know where it is." Lance raised a brow.

"Well, I . . . I was waiting for you to get done. I didn't want to . . . ruin your flow?" At least that was _sort of_ true.

"Oh," Lance's expression reverted back to the normal, laid-back way it usually was. "Anyways . . . " he shifted his weight, "about last night . . . I-I'm not usually like that, I'm sorry you had to--"

"Lance, it's fine. I get it." Keith smiled.

"No, but, I mean . . . you don't have to act nice or anything, okay?"

"Um . . . okay . . . " Keiht agreed. Did Lance really think Keith would only be nice to him out of pity?

"Anyways, enough dramatic stuff . . . I'm gonna go get some breakfast, so the deck is yours."

"Oh, uh, yeah, yeah," Keith nodded. "See ya around." Keith walked backwards out of the doors, saluting him with a grin. "time to train . . . "

* * *

 

Lance walked into the dining room, "mornin'!"

"Hey Lance!" Hunk waved, finishing off osme green goo. "Keith was looking for you!"

Lance raised an eyebrow, "he was?"

"Yeah, but then he went to train."

"Interesting . .  ."Lance said, filling his bowl with food goo via the tubes. He sat down next to Allura, then reached across the table to tap the surface in front of Pidge.

"Whatchya up to?" Lance asked.

"Oh, nothing . . . " she looked at the table as she spoke. "Just . . . computer nerd stuff."

"Can I see?" Lance asked.

Pidge held her tablet and paper close to her chest, the contents of both hidden form Lance's prying eyes. "N-no! You, uh, you wouldn't get it anyways . . . it's _really_ complicated coding."

"Um, okay . . . " Lance leaned back into his seat.

It was time for some good old breakfast.


	2. Mice and Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mice do some snooping, and Lance has some conversations.

* * *

_Sixteen hours_

* * *

The dining room was empty now, as everyone had finished breakfast about forty minutes ago, and all of them had more important things to do than sit around and chat.

Keith was probably still training since nobody had seen him since he left breakfast. Coran had gone to do some repairs to the castle, and Hunk had tagged along with him. Allura was tirelessly searching the star maps for any sign of Shiro, and Lance had gone with her, eager to help. Pidge had stayed behind in the dining room for a few minutes, and then she had gone to who-knows-where . . .

The mice knew all of this as they scurried along the floor, looking for any information that could be of use to their princess. Through the vents, they spied on almost everyone. Coran and Hunk were talking about some sort of machine, which was hardly useful to mice, so they went on to see who else they could spy on. They caught a glance of Keith, who was sweaty and nearly breathless as he input the settings for his next session. It was already set to the second hardest level. Well, unless you counted the lethal setting.

The mice went on, heading in the direction of Allura. However, they must have taken a wrong turn because instead of ending up in the navigation center, they seemed to be somewhere near . . . the Lions?

Someone entered the area, looking around nervously. It had to be Pidge. She sprinted to her Lion's hangar, her tablet and paper in her hands. The mice followed, watching as she got on her knees, Green bowing its head to her and nuzzling her shoulders gently. Pidge gave her a weak smile, then proceeded to open a panel on her Lion's leg. She began pressing buttons, though the mice could not tell what she was doing.

Disinterested, the mice ran away in the other direction, going towards Allura. They entered the star map room, greeted by a distraught princess and a busy Lance.

Plastering a smile on her face, Allura put her hands out for the mice to climb onto. She set them on her podium, mentally asking them what they were up to. Though, she seemed more interested in the maps than anything else.

The mice told her everything was normal in the castle. The princess nodded, relieved that there were no other problems for her to worry about. The mice continued informing her of the repairs Coran and Hunk were doing to the castle. They continued on, mentioning how Keith was training very hard.

"Which setting is he using?" Allura asked.

The mice told her he was using the hardest setting, and she rubbed her forehead.

"I told him to be careful . . .  " she sighed, then turned to Lance, who was marking planets Shiro was definitely not on. "Lance, can you please go tell Keith we need him? I fear he is wearing himself out . . . he's been training for almost a varga."

"I was training for two . . . " Lance said under his breath. "Um, yeah, sure thing . . . I'll . . . make sure to tell him how stupid his mullet is, too!"

Allura rolled her eyes, very used to their "rivalry" at this point. The mice crossed their arms and shook their heads at Lance.

Lance walked out, and the mice remembered one more thing. They told Allura Pidge had been doing something to her LIon, probably just more modifications.

Allura chuckled lightly, "yes, Pidge is always making _something_ more useful . . . "

With that, Allura went back to her search for Shiro, not willing to waste another dobosh.

* * *

Lance waltzed onto the training deck, not bothering to go up in the control room and wait for Keith to finish.

"Hey, Keith!" Lance yelled.

Keith looked at him quickly, "wha--" he wasn't able to finish as one of the training robots knocked him over. He rolled over, then kicked the robot out of the way. He sliced into it with his sword, the purple glow refleting off his sweat.

"Um, sorry . . . " Lance smiled awkwardly.

Keith put his hands on his thighs, setting all his weight on them as he huffed. "What do you need?"

"Allura wants you to come helps us . . . " Lance informed him, "man, what level were you on?"

Keith was still breathing heavily, "lethal."

Lance grew a few shades lighter. "Wait, so my inturrupting you could've--"

"It's _fine_. I had it under control." Keith cut him off sharply, parting his long bangs away from his face.

"O-okay . . . " Lance bit his lip. "Hey, you think we should do group training later today?"

"I dunno, I think Hunk and Pidge need a break."

"Yeah, you're right . . . "

"Besides, we gotta put out focus on Shiro for the rest of the day."

"Yeah . . . I guess . . . " Lance felt weird agreeing with Keith so much. "By the way, you're an idiot and your hair is stupid."

"Umm . . . " Keith didn't really know whether to insult him right back, or to be nice . . . Well, Lance _did_ tell him not to be _too_ nice, didn't he? "Well, _I'm_ leader until Shiro gets back, so . . . " Keith smirked.

He could have sworn Lance smiled. "Whatever, Mullet-head." Lance scowled as he walked away.

Keith smiled softly to himself, "nice exit! But you forgot I'm going with you, genius!" He ran after the Cuban.

Their paces matched up quickly, as Lance didn't seem to try and get Keith off his tail.

After a moment of walking in silence, Lance smirked, "sooo . . . Hunk said you were looking for me earlier."

"Oh, uh . . . "

"Keith, I know I'm awesome and you can't handle it, but don't go looking for a fight." Lance continued, combing his fingers through his hair.

Keith rolled his eyes, "whatever, stupid."

Lance smirked, _obviously_ having won the battle. "Anyways, sicne _you'll_ be helping Allura now, I'm going to--"

"Lance, " Keith cut him off. "You can't just leave because _I'll_ be there. Allura needs all the help she can get finding Shiro, and nothing you have to do today is more important than that!"

Lance was quiet for a moment, then he looked down, "sorry, Keith, but I need to talk to someone."

"Excuse me? Shiro is top priority. We need him to form Voltron. You're helping."

Lance gave Keith a look that could kill.  "Shiro might have made you leader, but you have no right to tell me what to do. I have things to do, I'll come back to help Allura when I'm done."

Keith gritted his teeth, his fists clenched. What could be more important than finding Shiro?! Nothing, that's what. Lance was so . . . immature! Didn't he realize that without Shiro, there was no way to form Voltron?! How could they defend the universe if they were missing a pilot?! Didn't Lance care how much Shiro meant to them all?

Lance, well . . .he jsut strutted off, not aring what else Keith had to say. Though, he felt a small pang of guilt, he ignored it, deciding to be mad at Keith instead. "Jerk . . . " he muttered to himself.

* * *

Lance huffed, almost jogging down the hallway. Allura had mentioned Pidge was modifying something, so he figured the Lion Lounge (as Lance liked to call it sometimes) would be the best place to look first. Sure enough, as Lance entered the stadium-sized room, he saw Pidge typing something into her laptop, which was attatched to her lion with various wires.

Lance walked up behind her, "hey, Pidge!"

Pidge jumped, "Lance! You scared the quiznack out of me!"

"Sorry," Lance scratched the back of his neck, "sooo . . . whatchya doin'?" Lance hoped he could find out why Pidge was acitng so weird. It might have been just Shiro . . . but Lance suspected something else was going on.

Pidge seemed ten times more reserved suddenly. Her eyes avoided Lance's gaze, "just . . . just some modifications to Green."

"Can I help?" Lance asked, ooking at her laptop's screen. It was filled with code, some of it too advanced for Lance, as the Garrison had ony forced Fighter and Cargo Class pilots to take one basic coding class.

Pidge must have noticed he was staring becasue she scooted in front of the screen, blocking it from Lance's view. "Well, uh, like I said earlier, i-it's very advanced code, so . . . "

"Yeah, yeah, I know, computer nerd stuff. But still, there must be _something_ I can do to help."

"Well . . . " Pidge droned on, "I guess you could give me some insight on my modifications . . . " Pidge seemed to choose her words carefully.

Lance sat down in front of her, looking completely relaxed. "Yeah, sure. What are the modifications?"

"Well, I'm adding a new sort of defense mechanism. It'll scan for any type of DNA, depending on what you put in, and it will redirect the head to look at it so you can shoot it. But, you could also just use it to track things, people . . . you just need their DNA. I've also generalized it to be able to track DNA that's similar to what you put in, so if someone wanted to find a certain species or a family, they could . . . " PIdge explained.

"Wait . . . Pidge, what's the range on that thing?" Lance asked.

"Up to 250 meters in all directions," Pidge stated proudly.

"So, kind of close range since we're in space . . . " Lance started, "but if you knew the general area of someone . . . "

"It would lead you right to them!" PIdge finished.

"Pidge . . . this is genius! We can use this to find Shiro!" Lance grinned.

Pidge's eyes widened, as if she hadn't realized that before. "Shiro . . . "

"That _is_ why you made this, right?" Lance raised a brow.

"Well . . . " Pidge sighed, "no. I feel like an idiot for not seeing how we could use this sooner . . . "

Lance gave a soft smile, "hey, don't get so down. I mean, just the fact that you could make something like this in the first place is insane!"

Pidge smiled slightly, "thanks, Lance."

"So . . . why _did_ you make it?" Lance cocked his head.

Pidge finally looked at Lance. She looked a bit nervous, but she seemed to trust Lance enough to tell him the reason, whatever it was.

"I . . . " Pidge looked up sudenly, gasping.

The alarm blared, red lights flashing above the two Paladins. Slowly, Pidge and Lance looked at each other.

At the same time, they said, "crap."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mystery of Pidge continues . . . I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! What do you think is going to happen next? Leave a comment down below! Constructive criticism is accepted and encouraged!


	3. An Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team fights the Galra, and Pidge makes a discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short, sorry!

* * *

_Seventeen hours_

* * *

"He's just so . . . so annoying!" Keith ranted, pacing around the room.

"Uh huh," Allura studied yet another planet in hopes of finding even the smallest trace of their former leader.

"I mean, what does he think could be more important than finding Shiro? HIs stupid face masks that make his skin look all perfect? No!"

"Uh huh,"

"And, I mean, I know I'm no Shiro, but I'm still his leader right now! He should at _least_ hear me out!"

"Uh h--" Allura gasped.

"He's so--"

"Keith, a Galra ship is approaching!"

 _"What_ _?!"_ Keith spun around to see a giant ship heading their way, the purple glow lighting up the dark space around them.

Allura pressed a button, causing the alarm to go off. She grabbed the speaker, "Paladins, to your lions!"

Keith ran out of the room, heading towards the Hangars. He nodded to Hunk, who had come from a small hallway branching off hte one Keith was now in. They parted ways to go into their small zipline rooms, which also heald their suits. Keith got into his suit quickly, completely one edge. Breathing heavily, he jumped, grabbing the handle to his zipline. Gliding down quickly, he was thrusted into his Lion.

"Is everyone in their Lions?" Keith asked over the intercom system.

"Yep," Hunk replied.

"I'm ready!" Lance said.

"Let's do this . . . " that was PIdge.

"Alright, let's go!" Keith flew his Lion out the Hangar doors, which had opened.

The rest of the Paladins followed suit. Keith led the team towards the ship, going at full speed.

"Hey, Keith, think you could slow down?" Hunk asked. "My Lion can't keep up!"

Keith pulled the controls towards him a bit, not really wanting to slow down. But, he supposed he couldn't just go off on his own, and he wasn't going to leave anybody behind. "This good?"

"Yeah," Hunk responded.

Hey, Keith," Pidge asked, "what's the plan, exactly?"

"I vote we just shoot at it!" Lance said.

"No, we . . . we should make sure they're trying to hurt us first. Besides, there could be prisoners." Keiht bit his lip, trying to be extra cautious instead of going off his usual instincts. _Patience yields focus._

"But, how are we going to do that?" Hunk asked.

"U-ummm . . . " Keith racked his brain. How _could_ they do this?

Suddenly, Lance snapped his fingers, "hey, Pidge! Did you finish that sensor thing?"

Pidge gasped, "Lance, you're a genius! I can reverse engineer it to display everything _besides_ Galra DNA!"

"Wait, what? What sensor?" Keith raised a brow.

"I made a modification that displays a certain DNA. It automatically points me in the direction of it. It has 250 meter radius." Pidge explained.

"Oh . . . that's  . . . " Keith shook his head, "that's genius! We can use it to find anyone?"

"As long as I have their DNA, then yes. But I can also allow it to show all lifeforms with similar DNA, so we can track entire _species_ at a time!" Pidge smiled proudly.

"So, if you reverse engineer it . . . it'll point you in the direction of all the lifeforms that aren't Galra!" Hunk grinned.

"Yes, but I need time. If the ships stars shooting, cover me. I'll have to go outside of my Lion . . . "

"Rodger that," Keith agreed, "Hunk, Lance, take the left and right. I'll go in front."

"Got it," Hunk veered left, getting his blaster ready to defend Pidge.

"Fine," Lance responded, already halfway to his position.

Keith pulled up directly in between Pidge and the incoming ship. "Whatever you do, _don't_ leave your positions unitl my command."

Lance quietly mocked Keith, obviously still angry about earlier.

"Okay, I'm coming out." Pidge said, already exiting out Green's mouth. She maneuvered slowly to its leg, her laptop in hand. She opened the leg panel, and connected the laptop to it. Furiously, she typed.

"This should only take a few--" Pidge was inturrupted as a beam shot past her, missing her by just a few inches.

"Lance, Hunk, come closer! Shoot at it!" Keith yelled.

Lancve growled, shooting at a weak point on the ship, "no one's getting killed by a laser beam except this stupid spaceship!"

Pidge gulped, worriedly typing in her modifications.

"Hunk, on your right!" Keith shouted.

"Got it!" Hunk flew into the path of a nearby laser beam, taking the impact instead of Pidge. "Ow . . . " he graoned, "don't do that . . . "

"Done!" Pidge announced, disconnecting her laptop. She quickly grabbed the panel, putting it on as fast as she could.

"Get back in your Lio--LANCE, GO DOWN!" Keith yelled suddenly.

"Wha--" Lance wasn't quick enough. He ws hit by a large beam. "Agh!"

"Lance!" everyone yelled.

Pidge quickly flew back into her Lion. She slid into her seat. "You guys help Lance, I'll cover you!"

As Hunk and Keith  flew over to Lance, Pidge suddenly felt her Lion's presense. It urged her to insert her Bayard into a small opening.

"Guys, my Lion can't move!" Lance cried.

Without hesitation, PIdge pushed her Bayard into the opening, turning it clockwise. Her lion's back plates flew off, forming a smaller version of the Voltron sheild in front of her Lion. She quickly flew in front of Lance and the other Paladins.

"A sheild! We have a sheild!" Hunk celebrated, throwing his hands in the air.

"Pidge activate the sensor. We need to find out if we can shoot this thing _now!_ " Keith commaned.

"On it!" PIdge pressed a button, a pusling green light suddenly flying out from her Lion in all directions. A tiny DNA slide-holder popped out in front of her. She gasped, " _FRICK!_ I don't have a sample!"

"Wait, I might have one!" Lance announced. "I've been keeping some souviners in here . . . and, I thnk I have . . . " he trailed off, "aha! One Galra touched sword, ocme and get it!"

"You have one of their _swords!"_ Pidge raised a brow, flying closer to Lance.

"Yup!"

"Okay, well, get out and meet me halfway!" Pidge said, once again in the process of getting out of her Lion.

"Coming!" Lance said, turning his jetpack on.

Pidge flew over towards him, going a little more than halfway due to Lane going out later than her.

"Here," Lance handed her a Galra sword, though it wasn't in it's full sword form, just a dagger.

"Once again, you've saved my butt, Lance!" Pidge smiled, already heading back.

Lance smiled back, "it's just what I do . . . " Lance had become like a big brother to Pidge, which wasn't really intentional, Lance was just naturally proective. Big families did that to you. But since Pidge had opened up about wanting to find her real brother, Lance had figured he'd be the replacement until she did.

"Lance, did you freeze or something?" Hunk asked, blasting at a fleet of small ships that had come their way while Lance and Pidge were getting the DNA sample.

"Uh, no, sorry!" Lance jetted back to his Lion.

"I got the sample in! The scanner should start working in a few ticks!" Pidge declared.

"Great," Keith said, "because I don't know how much longer we can hold this thing off!"

"Paladins!" Allura said suddenly, "the castle's systems went offline, but I'm here now!"

"Yeah, I was kinda wondering where you were . . . " Hunk commented.

"Guys, the sensor is pointing me right at the ship! It's picking up non-Galra DNA!" Pidge gasped.

Next to her, in the small area of her visor she had set up with the sensor, one message flashed repeatedly. It was her "computer nerd stuff", as she had put it for Lance. Pidge gasped as he read the message, a hand going up to her mouth.

 

**_DNA FILE "Family": MATCH FOUND_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll just . . . give you a second to process this.  
> Tell me what you think in the comments below! Constructive criticism is accepted and encouraged!


	4. Katie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge goes in to save the prisoners from the Galra, as the rest of the team struggles to keep fighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, let's see how many hearts I can break this time.

* * *

_Seventeen hours_

* * *

"So there's prisoners? Damn it!" Keith cursed, avoiding another laser beam.

"Well, we can't just shoot at it . . . we gotta go in there and save them!" Hunk said.

"Yeah, but that's gonna be kinda hard to do since they're _shooting at us_ _!_ _"_ Lance shouted, his Lion finally working again.

"Pidge can do it," Keith decided, "her Lion can turn invisible, remember?"

"What?" Pidge blinked at the mention of her name. "Oh, y-yeah . . . yeah, I can go in . . . "

"Will you be okay on your own?" Lance asked.

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine. Cloaking going on now . . . " Pidge pressed a button, her Lion suddenly blending into the endless space around her.

"We'll be here if you need us," Keith said, shooting at yet another tiny fleet.

"I know," Pidge bit her lip as she quickly glided towards the ship. "I'm coming guys . . . " she whispered.

"Pidge, you'll have to be quick. We can only last about a few more doboshes!" Allura informed her, her tone urgent.

"Got it. I'm entering the ship now . . . " Pidge relayed, entering an empty hangar cautiously.

She landed in a corner, breathing deeply as she exited her Lion. Suddenly, her Lion took her mind over. She could see where the prisoners were being held, her Lion guiding her through the path she'd have to take to get there.

Vision returning to normal, Pidge smiled. "Thanks, Kitty Rose . . . " she patted her paw gently.

Pidge slunk along the walls, careful not to make any noise.

"I'm almost there . . . " Pidge said.

"Good, because we can't hold this off for much lo--Hunk, on your left!" Keith yelled suddenly.

"Got it!" Hunk replied, grunting.

"Where do these things keep coming from?" Lance shouted, obviously annoyed.

"The ship, duh," Hunk replied.

PIdge stuck her head out into a well-lit hallway. seeing no one and hearing nothing, she ran down the hall, going down the route her Lion had laid out for her.

"I'm just a few meters away . . . " Pidge said, her voice just above a whisper.

As she rounded the corner, she stopped in her tracks. How could she have been so stupid? Of _course_ the prisoners were guarded!

"There's an intruder!" the large guard said, pressing the oversized button next to him. Red lights flashed overhead.

Pidge got out her Bayard, "guys, I've been spotted!"

"We'll try to help, but . . ." Keith's voice turned to static. "Too much . . . shooting . . . AGH!"

"Keith!" Lance shouted, his voice still clear on the comms.

Pidge gulped. The guard lunged at her, a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. Pidge attempted to jab her Bayard into him, but she wasn't fast enough. The guard picked her up easiy, a grin spreading across his face. She kicked and wiggled, trying to break free of his hold. Curse her small stature!

Pidge's gaze trailed to the cell, where a wide-eyed boy stared at her.

"Katie?" he said, unsure. The prisoners around him murmured, looking at her in shock.

"Matt . . . " Pidge's brows lowered. She growled, kicked the guard, then smacked his face upwards with her Bayard. He stumbled back, not even getting the chance to recover as Pidge jumped on him, slicing at him with her Bayard. She summoned her shield, using it to hit him flat on the head, causing him to fall over.

"Pidge! We need you to get out of there!" Lance shouted. "We _need_ to shoot at it!"

"I need to get the prisoners out first!" Pidge said, slicing at the bars with her Bayard. To her dismay, nothing happened.

"We need to do it _now!_ We have no choice, Pidge, we _have_ to shoot!"

Pidge looked at the cell, panicking. She looked to the guard, trying to spot some sort of key or something. "I can't just--"

Pidge was interrupted by a small explosion to her left. It was enough to knock her over, sending her straight into the wall. She got up, seeing it had done no damage to the cell bars.

"Katie! You have to go! This wasn't made to allow us to ever leave." Matt shouted, pointing to the doorway, "you need to leave us behind!"

"N-no, Matt I'm not going to--" get another explosion, now behind her, caused some of the ceiling to fall. The hallway was almost blocked now. If she didn't leave, she'd be trapped.

"Katie, you _have_ to go. This thing is falling apart." Matt stared into her eyes, his expression protective and distraught.

Tears stung her eyes, "no, I wo--"

Another explosion, this time the rubble fell in front of the cell. There was no way she could get them out, and if she stayed any longer, she'd have no way to escape.

"I love you, Katie. _Please_ , go." Matt shouted from the other side. "Mom needs you to stay alive!"

Pidge gulped, tears streaking down her face, as she nodded, running out into the hallway as it crumbled behind her. A larger explosion went off, causing her to break into a run. "I love you, too!" Pidge yelled, small explosions peppered behind her.

She ran down the hall as fast as she could, not daring to look back. She increased her speed, if that was even possible, as she neared her Lion.

"Don't let them get away!" A soldier shouted from the other side of the Hangar.

Pidge climbed into her Lion quickly, not wasting even a second.

"Let's go, Green," she pushed the controls, blasting herself out of the Hangar.

Shots fired from behind her, narrowly missing her Lon.

"I'm out," Pidge struggled to announce.

"Alright, shoot at it with the big guns," Lance commanded. "Just try to stop it, if we can keep it whole we might still be able to get the prisoners out."

"Got it," Hunk's Lion roared, his blasters taking no mercy on the ship.

"What happened to Keith?" Pidge asked, trying to shoot through her tears.

There was a moment of silence.

"His Lion was shot. He isn't responding." Lance said, a strain in his voice.

Then, the ship's engine exploded. It stopped shooting.

"Oh no . . . " Lance whispered.

"The prisoners!" Pidge screamed. If there was any chance she could still save them, it was gone now. The ship started exploding in various other places, each one only sparking more.

"Pidge, we have to go." Lane said firmly, though he could barely hide the horror in his voice.

"Paladins, we've opened a wormhole! We must leave _now!_ " Allura shouted.

"Got it!" Hunk said.

Pidge gritted her teeth, her eyes closed.

Lance and Hunk pushed their Lion's into Keith's helping him into the wormhole. Pidge followed them in, looking back at the ship as it continued to explode.

"I'm sorry . . . " Pidge whispered, flying towards the castle.

* * *

 When Pidge entered the castle, she couldn't help but fall to her knees, the tears trickling down her face.

Lance and Hunk were dragging Keith out of his Lion, and he was definitely unconscious. They set him on the ground, breathing heavily. Allura and Coran ran into the room, rushing up to the boys. They picked Keith up, carrying him towards the healing pods. Lance and Hunk worriedly watched him, but they ran up to Pidge instead of following.

Pidge wiped her tears on her sleeve, "I'm sorry . . . I almost . . . the mission . . . "

Lance put his hand on her shoulder, getting down on his knees. "Hey, it's okay . . . you wanted to save the prisoners."

"He was _there_ , Lance . . . " she pulled her knees up to her chest.

"A-a prisoner?" Lance asked.

"My brother!" Pidge's words echoed through the room. Softer this time, she said, "Matt was there . . . and now . . . "

Lane silently pulled pIdge into his arms. "I'm so sorry . . . "

Hunk put his hand on Pidge's back gently. Pidge cried, encased in the arms of her teammates. She let it all out.

They could have failed the mission because of her. They didn't.

They could have died. They didn't.

She could have saved Matt . . . or could she have?

Finally, Pidge let herself break away. She had created a large wet spot on Lance's armor. Her hair clung to her face, her glasses foggy. She looked up at Lance and Hunk, who were both trying to smile comfortingly.

She brushed the hair out of her face, "we better go check on Keith . . . "

Hunk and Lance nodded, helping her up. The trio walked to the healing pods in a comfortable silence, the air heavy with their emotions. At least they had each other.

* * *

  _Eighteen hours_

* * *

Allura, Coran, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance crowded around Keith's healing pod, anxiously waiting for him to come out. His breathing was quiet but steady. His expression was peaceful, and under different circumstances, he would've looked cute.

It was Lance who finally broke the silence. "How long does this take, again? I'm pretty sure I was only in this thing for like . . . a few ticks."

Allura sighed, "he should be out soon. And Lance, you were in your pod for at _least_ a quintant."

"Okay, whatever . . . " Lance tapped the glass anxiously.

"How big of a laser hit him, exactly?" Pidge asked.

"It wasn't a laser . . . it was pure quintessence." Coran stated, definitely looking more concerned than any of the others. His brows furrowed down in a way they never had, the look in his eye wistful, yet afraid.

"Like what hit us when we were fighting Zarkon?" Hunk asked.

"Sort of, but it wasn't nearly as large. Hopeully, he'll be just fine." Coran responded.

"Yeah, hopefully . . . " Pidge whispered.

"So wait, when do we do the clock party thing?" Lance asked, scratching his head.

"What?" Hunk raised a brow.

"Y'know, the clock party?" Lance acted as if what he was talking about was obvious.

"Oh!" Coran snapped his fingers, "no, that was just when _you_ were in there. We were comparing ticks and Earth seconds!"

"Ohhhh . . . " Lance droned, _finally_ realizing what had been going on that day. "Nevermind then . . . "

"It's not going to help Keith if we just stand here and wait for him . . . we should focus on finding out what's been going on." Allura suggested.

"Yes," Coran agree, "Keith wouldn't want us to dolly around."

The Paladins agreed.

"Who wants to stay and keep watch on him?" Allura asked.

Lance shifted his weight. He opened his mouth to speak.

"I'll do it." Pidge said, unknowingly interrupting Lance.

Lance frowned, but quickly changed his expression as remembered his reputation.

"Okay. Tell us if he wakes up while you're on watch." Allura gave a slight smile.

"I will," Pidge gave a half-smile back, nodding.

And with that, Hunk, Coran, Allura, and Lance left.

PIdge sat down, her back on the cool glass seperating Keith from the world. She sighed, twiddling her thumbs. " I . . . I know you can't hear me, Keith, but . . . " Pidge looked up at her new leader's face, "I'm sorry I ruined the mission. And almost got you killed."

Of course, there was no answer.

So Pidge sighed once again, looking down at her knees in an anxious wait for Keith's return.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah . . . I'm really sorry. I'm just gonna . . . *slides tissues over the table*


	5. Leader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith processes the battle as he ponders his role as the team's leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for some KEITH ANGST!!!

* * *

_Twenty hours_

* * *

Lance had come by to take Pidge's place about an hour after she took it, and Pidge had graciously accepted his offer. So, Lance had been sitting there. For an hour. Doing nothing.

Okay, that's not true.

Lance was singing.

Quietly, of course, but he was still singing.

At first, it had just been a few soft melodies to pass the time . . . but now?

He was singing Justin Beiber.

_That's_ how bored he was.

Just when Lance had stood up to stretch out his leg muscles, he heard the familiar whooshing sound of a healing pod opening. He turned around, just in time to catch a very dazed and tired Keith.

"Keith! Hey! You're okay!" Lance smiled, allowing Keith to lean into his chest.

Keith moaned groggily as if just waking up from a deep sleep. "Wha . . . what happened?"

"You, um . . . you got hit. Coran said it was pure quintessence." Lance responded.

"Oh . . ." Keith said, "did we . . . did we rescue the prisoners?"

Lance sighed, tensing. "No . . . there wasn't enough time . . . also, the ship kind of . . . exploded . . . a lot . . . "

Keith shot off Lance, _"WHAT?!"_

Lance looked down, somber. "We couldn't hold them off . . . and Pidge--"

"Lance! Are you saying the prisoners _DIED?!"_

"We don't _know_ , okay?! Look, we're all really sorry about it . . . especially Pidge. She blames it all on herself, especially since--"

"LANCE! People could be _DEAD_ because of us! Why didn't you guys save them? You should have tried harder! Pidge should've tried harder! You--"

"WE WERE _TRYING_ , KEITH! BUT WE FAILED!" Lance yelled. "AND DON'T YOU _DARE_ SAY PIDGE DID ANYTHING WRONG! HER _BROTHER_ WAS IN THAT SHIP! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT MUST'VE BEEN FOR HER?!"

Keith stood there in complete shock as Lance's breathing gradually became calmer, the redness of his face fading."You're right . . . I'm sorry. If anything, it was my fault for getting hurt like that and letting down the team."

Lance sighed, "no, it . . . it wasn't anyone's fault . . . "

"It's because Shiro's gone. If he had been here . . . we could have . . . " Keith's voice hitched.

"Maybe . . . " Lance put his hand on Keith's shoulder. "Let's go get you some food, okay? Everyone's been waiting for you to wake up."

Keith nodded, though the atmosphere was still uneasy. He still had to lean on Lance to walk, which was kind of awkward, especially since Lane had just told him off, but neither of them really cared. They were teammates, leaning on each other's shoulders (literally _or_ figuratively) was part of that.

Lance helped Keith into the dining room, where Pidge and Allura were discussing something. They both looked at the two boys immediately as they entered.

"Keith!" Allura stood up, a relieved expression on her face. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine . . . " Keith's gaze trailed over to Pidge as Allura walked up to him. Pidge caught his eye, then immediately looked a way, looking nervous.

"This will make you feel _much_ better!" Allura handed Keith a bowl of purple slime. She then proceeded to ~~drag~~ help him over to the table.

"Thanks . . . " Keith smiled softly. He began eating the slime, which was surprisingly not disgusting _or_ grape flavored!

Keith looked across the table, where Pidge was biting her lip, looking down at her legs. Lance had said her family had been among the prisoners, how she blamed herself . . . he'd have to talk to her about it later, in private.

So, when she finally looked up, Keith just gave her a small half-smile and went back to eating.

* * *

_Twenty-one hours_

* * *

Hunk and Keith sat on the couch, their postures tight. Hunk had been the only Paladin that had seen the entire play-by-play of the mission, or at least what happened to Keith, so Keith figured that he should hear Hunk's perspective on things. Combine that with Lance, Coran, Pidge, and his own perspectives, Keith hoped he could figure out what happened. More importantly, how they could stop it.

"So, then Pidge said, 'guys, I've been spotted!'" Hunk quoted Pidge in a high pitched voice, even though it sounded nothing like her. "Next thing I knew, the fleets were shooting double what they had before, and I saw the ship's cannon light up. It fired quickly though, they didn't charge it up all the way . . . anyways, then it hit you! Then you weren't responding, and we were all freaking out . . . I might have been screaming a little, but I calmed down, I swear! Anyways, Lance ended up taking charge, and we had to . . . " Hunk shifted his weight. "we had to tell Pidge to get out of there and leave the prisoners . . . man, we barely made it out alive!" Hunk began tearing up a bit.

Keith put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Thanks for telling me all this. Now I just gotta figure out how we can use this information in the future . . ." Keith shook his head. "Anyways, you said Lance took charge? He was the one who had to tell Pidge to . . . "

Hunk nodded. "I think it was just natural for him since he was Pidge and I's leader back at the Garrison . . . and yeah, he was the one . . . it was a tough decision, but we had no chance of getting them out . . . the ship was already combusting when Pidge was escaping."

Keith nodded at that, "yeah . . . I just wish . . ."

"I know, buddy. Me too."

"I  . . . I need to go be alone for a while. See you later." Keith got up, a constant frown on his face.

"Yeah, sure," Hunk's expression was similar. "See you, buddy."

Keith walked down to his room, his pace quick. So many things were on his mind . . . Poor Pidge she must have been hurting so much. Keith couldn't relate very much, but he knew how much it hurt him personally to lose Shiro . . . and Pidge was dealing with that _and_ her brother. But they could still be alive. Keith had to remember that.

And Lance taking a chance like that? Keith doubted he would have been able to make the decisions he had made. It must have been difficult.

He had been completely useless to his team. Sure, he wasn't all that bad in the beginning, but _how_ had he not seen that beam coming? He'd failed as a leader.

Leader . . .

Even though he'd acted like he'd totally accepted his new role, he really hadn't. Why in the world had Shiro chosen _him_ _?_ He wasn't ready. Maybe he'd never be ready. The only thing Keith knew was that he was scared out of his mind.

He was scared to lead.

He was scared because Shiro was gone.

He was scared because people believed in him, but he sure as hell didn't believe in himself.

So _why_ had Shiro chosen him? Was there something Keith wasn't seeing? Some big greatness . . . some trait he possessed that nobody else had? Or was Shiro just saying things? Was he just making his decision because he and Keith were the closest?

But that wasn't like Shiro. Not in the slightest.

So . . . _why?_

Keith sighed, letting himself fall onto his bed. Looking up at the ceiling, he racked his brain, trying to look at himself from other angles. How did Shiro see him?

Keith sighed again. This wasn't working. His mind was just so clouded . . . so distorted. He couldn't think about it anymore.

But then . . . what _could_ he do?

Talk to Pidge? No . . . he wanted to give her some more time. Besides, what was he supposed to say?

He could talk to Lance again, but . . . he just didn't want to. Like some uneasy feeling was settling inside of him every time Lance was around lately . . . it could be jealousy, but it seemed . . . different somehow.

He could train. His go-to activity. It always made him feel better. Besides, after that failure of a mission . . . Keith felt like he needed it.

Yes. He would go train.

* * *

Keith left his room feeling on edge even before the training began.

"Number 2!" Coran called from behind him. "Just the man I was looking for!" A huge smile was plastered across his face, his cheeks a bit red as if he'd been running recently.

Keith turned around as Coran ran up to him.

"What? Wait, I thought I was number three?"

Coran's smile faltered slightly, "well, yes, but, you've been . . . erm . . . you've been promoted! Yes!"

"Um, okay?" Keith raised a brow.

"Anyways, I need your help for  _just_ a dobosh! There's a photon radiator that needs fixing, and you're the only one who can help!"

"M-me?" Keith stammered. "What about Hunk or Pidge?"

"Hunk is busy helping Lance and Pidge was dragged off by Allura  to have, quote 'girl-time'." Coran used his fingers as quotation marks as he said that. "Something about bonding in the midst of stress . . . I don't really know. Anyways, you're the only one not doing anything, so you get to help me!"

"Um . . . okay then . . . " Keith shrugged. At least it was something to clear his mind.

Coran led Keith to some random hallway he'd never been to before, blabbering on about how the photon radiator was one of the most important things on the ship (even though no one had _ever_ mentioned it before). Finally, Coran squatted down in front of an open panel in the wall, where various wires were sticking out.

"Here we are!" Coran smiled.

"So . . . what do you need me to do?" Keith asked, feeling a little out of place.

"Just hand me that garbunkle . . ." Coran said. leaning into the panel.

"Ummm . . . " Keith picked up a purple pair of wire cutters. "These?"

Coran took them happily, "yes!"

Coran began cutting some wires, humming cheerfully. He then asked Keith fr a tumbit, then a microbe catoodle, and then a lalcinate. Surprisingly, Keith handed him all the right tools, despite not knowing what any of them were. Either Keith was incredibly lucky, or he was secretly able to understand Altean. He figured it was the former.

After about ten minutes of helping him in a comfortable silence, Keith suddenly had the urge to ask Coran for some advice.

"Hey, Coran?"

Coran made a small noise of inquiry, his head still in the panel.

"Do . . . do you think I'm a good leader?"

Coran turned to face Keith, covered in dust. "Yes! You really take charge, Keith. But . . . it seems like something is holding you back . . . "

"There is something . . . " Keith sighed. "I don't . . . I don't know if I _want_ to lead . . . I mean, I don't think I'm all that great of a leader! I'm just . . . an instinctive idiot most of the time. Ugh, why did Shiro choose me?!"

"Hmm . . . " Coran tapped his chin. "That's something you'll have to figure out for yourself. But Keith," Coran touched Keith's shoulder lightly, "it takes two things to have a good team. A team that's willing to follow, and a leader that's willing to step up and lead."

Keith considered his words carefully. Coran was right. Keith had to figure out why _he_ was supposed to be the leader. There had to be a reason. Even if someone else seemed more fit for the job . . . even if he wasn't sure he wanted to do this. It was Shiro's decision. He had to respect it.

"Thanks, Coran. You give good advice."

"So I've heard," Coran smiled, then they went back to their comfortable silence.


	6. Girls Just Want To Have Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge and Allura take some time to relax during this dreadful time . . . and get some much needed bonding time out of it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever. My life has been pretty busy lately (I just move to another STATE) so there hasn't been as much time for me to write and revise my chapters. But here is the latest one! I hope you enjoy :)

* * *

_Twenty-two hours_

* * *

"Try this one!" Allura smiled, practically shoving the silky, pink dress into Pidge's arms.

Pidge took the dress, "oh, this one's actually pretty!" She smiled, holding it in front of her as she looked in the mirror. "But, uh, remind me why we're doing this again?" And not being _productive_?

"I _told_ you, we need to have some girl time!" Allura insisted for about the billionth time. "No stress, no worries, just dresses, and gossip!" She grabbed some hair clips, smiling brightly.

"Well, okay . . . " Pidge walked behind Allura's changing screen. She had been surprised Allura even had one, but Allura had insisted it was an Altean invention -- not something used in Victorian England. Pidge stripped down to her underwear, then quickly slipped on the soft pink dress. She stepped out from behind the screen, fiddling with the lace on the sleeve. She looked up at Allura, who had a wide grin on her face, before twirling around, the skirt of the dress floating in the air around her.

Allura squealed, her hands covering her mouth. "Pidge! You look beautiful!"

"Really?" Pidge looked down at her body, then back at the giggling princess. "Thanks." She smiled, "I haven't dressed up like this since I joined the Garrison."

"See, this is _exactly_ why we must do this more often!" Allura stated matter-of-factly, setting Pidge down in a chair in front of her vanity. She began brushing Pidge's hair into a less-messy bob, tucking her bangs to the side with lace bows that both matched the dress and complimented Pidge's eyes.

Pidge smiled at her reflection, "wow . . . " She wasn't usually one for dressing up, but the few times she did, she was always amazed.

Allura squeezed her shoulders, "you look stunning! Isn't this fun?"

The brunette nodded. "I used to do things like this with my mom all the time . . . " the thought was bittersweet.

"As did my mother and I," Allura reminisced.

Pidge's expression turned slightly sour, a small from forming. Both of the girls were separated from their families . . . probably permanently. At least Pidge knew her mom was still alive. Allura had no one left.

"At least you and I can do this together now," Allura smiled, as if reading Pidge's mind.

"Yeah," Pidge smiled.

"Now . . . " Allura grinned, her aura giddy once again. "Help me pick out a dress!"

* * *

  _Twenty-three hours_

* * *

A little while later, Allura and Pidge had decided to take a break from being cooped up in Allura's room, and go get something to eat. They were out on a quest to find some "fancy Altean princess food", as Pidge had referred to it. They came across Hunk and Lance as they entered the common room, the two boys staring at them in awe.

"Wowie wowie _wow_ ," Lance said, bearing a similar expression to the one he wore when Allura first fell into his arms. "You girls are . . . you look . . ." he shook his head, regaining his confidence, "the name's _Lance._ Wait, quiznack, no."

"Yeah, wow, you ladies are so cute!" Hunk almost squealed. "Like tiny kittens rolling in a grassy field!"

Allura rolled her eyes at Lance, though both she and Pidge giggled. She smiled to Hunk, knowing his compliment was completely from the heart, and not at all flirtatious. "Thank you, Lance, Hunk."

Pidge smiled, brushing some stray hairs behind her ear. "Yes, thank you."

"I wonder if Keith will like our dresses?" Allura said under her breath, just loud enough for Pidge to hear.

Pidge didn't think much of it, gesturing for Allura to bend over. Pidge cupped her hands around her mouth, whispering into Allura's ear, "we should see it they'll get our food for us. I bet Lance will do anything if it means attention from you."

Allura looked hesitant at first, but her lips soon crinkled into an evil grin. Pidge snickered to herself, then they both turned back to look at Hunk and Lance.

"Man, am I _hungry._ " Pidge casually said. "Aren't you, Allura?"

"Oh, yes," Allura smirked, "I would _love_ something sweet right about now."

Lance perked up, smiling. "We can make you something! I'm like, the best chef in my family, besides my mom of course, so, you know, I can do sweet. And Hunk can help!" Lance lightly punched Hunk's right arm. "Right, buddy?"

"Hm? Oh, uh, yeah, sure!" Hunk happily agreed, though he just seemed like his usually helpful self, not under the influence of girly charms like Lance.

"By the way, princess," Lance grinned at Allura, "I'm sweet, too." He winked, then ran off with Hunk to the kitchen.

After a moment, Pidge and Allura burst into laughter.

"Allura, you have Lance under a _spell_ , I swear!"  PIdge wiped her eye, laughing.

"Yes, but now poor Hunk has to cook with him," Allura half frowned, though still giggling.

"Aw, yeah, poor Hunk. He just thought we looked nice," Pidge sympathized. "But he'll be okay, he loves cooking."

The girl sat down on one of the couches, still feeling a bit devilish as their laughter died down.

Just then, Keith and Coran waltzed in, talking about how to jump-start an abandoned pod. Coran immediately smiled like a proud father when he saw the girls, commenting on how nice they looked. Keith took a second to notice, though.

"Oh, you guys are wearing fancy dresses," Keith stated, arms crossing.

"Yes, we are!" Allura smiled. "Pidge and I needed some girl time! Like them?"

"Yeah, they're nice, I guess," Keith responded, not really seeming that engaged in the conversation. "Anyways, I was thinking maybe we should continue our search after dinner?"

"Oh, erm, yes, of course." Pidge could've sworn Allura looked disappointed.

"Cool. Hey, have you seen La--"

Lance and Hunk then burst into the room, holding various plates and bowls of multicolored foods and goos. Lance held a large tray in his hand, which held a covered plate.

"Your food, princess!" Lance got down on one knee, holding up the food. "And Pidge," he added as an afterthought.

"Thank you, Lance!" Allura smiled, taking a small blue blob and popping it into her mouth.

Pidge took a bowl of pink goo from Hunk, chewing on it. "Yeah, thanks, guys," she said, her mouth full.

"Oh, we really just found a bunch of--" Hunk started.

"We made it all ourselves!" Lance smiled, pointing to his chest. "See, Lance, master chef, right here!"

Keith attempted to grab some food, but Lance slapped his hand out of the way. "No Keith! This food is for the _pretty ladies!_ Are you a pretty lady?"

"Yes," Keith took on of the blue blobs Allura had eaten and threw it in his mouth.

"Don't hate him 'cause he's beautiful!" Hunk chuckled.

"And hungry," Pidge added, giggling.

"Yes, very hungry," Hunk said.

Lance gasped, then scowled, his face growing redder. "Hmph!" he said, looking away from Keith.

Keith used that as an opportunity to grab more food.

"So, Keith," Allura smiled, "were you helping Coran?"

"Yeah, we were fixing the photon radiator," Keith replied.

"Oh?" Allura inquired. "Must have been hard work!"

"Not really, I just handed Coran some tools." Keith said nonchalantly, shrugging.

Pidge raised a brow as she stuffed her face with some red goop. Why was Allura so interested in Keith today? Keith obviously wasn't very interested, yet Allura kept on trying to interact with him.

Why?

It was almost as if . . .

Oh.

_Oh._

Pidge would have to look into this.

* * *

_Twenty-four hours_

* * *

Pidge handed Allura the dress she had been wearing with a smile. "This was really fun, Allura, thanks."

Allura pushed the dress back towards Pidge. "You keep it. It looks much better on you, anyway."

"Really?" Allura nodded. "Well, okay. If you say so . . . "

Pidge put the dress on a hanger, draping it over her arm.

She had to remember the objective. Before they got interrupted again. (Somehow, Lance had tried to get in the room about twenty different ways. He claimed he wanted to talk to Allura, but they had kicked him out, even placing Coran on guard of the hallway."

"Hey, Allura, can I . . . can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Pidge. What is it?" Allura inquired, adjusting her earrings in the mirror.

"Do you . . . okay, this is a silly question, but . . . do you have a crush on Keith?"

Allura's face went about five shades lighter for a moment, freezing her entire body in mid-earring adjustment. Blushing, she turned to look at Pidge.

"M-maybe . . . "

"Allura!" Pidge covered her mouth.

"Is it really that obvious?"

"N-no, I just . . . " Pidge tapped her scalp, "smart one."

Allura sighed with relief, "oh, thank goodness . . . "

Pidge bit her lip, "but, Allura . . . "

"What?"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Keith doesn't like you back . . . " Pidge frowned.

Allura almost pouted. "How would _you_ know of Keith's feelings?"

Pidge put her hand on Allura's shoulder. "Allura, Keith is . . . "

"Keith is what?"

"He's gay. Keith is gay."

" . . . what?" Allura seemed unfamiliar with the term.

"He likes _guys_ . . . ?" Pidge leaned forward slightly, as if it was obvious what she had meant.

Allura's eyes widened, "oh! I . . . I didn't know . . . " she gave a skeptical look, "wait, how do _you_ know?"

"It's pretty obvious if you pay attention. Ever noticed how often he touches the guys? Like, putting his hand on their shoulder. O-or how he always acts manlier than he is to impress them? I mean, I don't know if he really _knows_ he's gay yet, but he definitely is."

"Wow. Okay . . . " Allura almost whispered. "So now I have zero chance with him."

"Yeah, sorry . . . " PIdge half-frowned. "B-but you're too good for him, anyway! I mean, you're a _princess!"_ Pidge smiled.

"Yes . . . I . . . um . . . " Allura stuttered. "Pidge, can I be alone for a while?"

"Yeah, sure. See ya later." Pidge walked to the door. "Oh, and thanks for the girl time! And the dress!"

Allura smiled. She kept on smiling until Pidge was totally out of view. Then, she sighed, dropping it.

. . .

Crap.

She said she was going to help Keith look for Shiro later.

It was later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, just a fun little chapter for once. No angst here. Or not. Who knows . . . ;)


	7. All is Fair in Love and War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the tension in the castle increases (both romantic and angry), Coran discovers an enemy ship approaching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for some angst. And some fluff. But mostly danger.

* * *

_Twenty-four hours_

* * *

Keith studied the starmaps carefully. He marked the planets they had scanned already. How could it be that across the entire universe, no one had seen the Black Paladin?

The door wooshed opened behind him, the sound of footsteps getting louder as they approached him.

"Hey, Allura," he greeted without even turning around.

"Um, no, actually, it's me." Lance said, giving a goofy smile.

"Oh. Hi." Keith froze for a moment.

Lance walked up next to Keith. "So . . . "

"You can work on sector Z-2349."

"Um, sure . . . " Lance said, sounding almost disappointed. "By the way, I brought you food."

Lance set a plate of green goop down in front of him, smiling awkwardly.

"Oh, uh, thanks . . . " he took a little bit of it and plopped it in his mouth. "Hey, I thought your food was only for pretty ladies . . . " Keith smirked.

Lance's cheeks grew slightly pinker. "Well, erm, _that_ was when there were pretty ladies around to feed. Besides, you need to eat."

"Okay, fair enough." Keith took another bite. "This is really good, by the way."

Keith could've sworn the lights dimmed as he smiled at Lance. Yet, where Lance was standing was _radiating_ light. Lance smiled back a toothy grin, allowing himself to be friendly for once.

"You . . . " Lance started.

"Yeah?"

"You got food on your face, idiot." He reached over to wipe it off with his thumb, chucking lightly.

Keith gasped, but his breathing was soft as he watched Lance intensely. Did the room get smaller? He was pretty sure the room was smaller . . . Everything seemed to pause, as if there was nothing in the universe besides this small touch, this moment.

Lance's hand slid down to grasp Keith's shoulder. "By the way, I--"

The door flew open, Allura and Coran walking in.

"He--oh, are we . . . erm, interrupting something?" Allura raised a brow.

Keith and Lance's cheeks reddened. Quickly, they seperated. Keith turned back to the star maps and Lance grabbed a small device, sitting down with one foot resting on his knee casually.

"Hm? Nope! We were just, uh . . . waiting for you!" Lance said.

"Yeah, where you been?" Keith asked, quick to change the subject.

Wait . . . why were they denying anything? It's not like they were doing anything wrong . . . maybe Lance was just embarassed to be talking to him? Yeah, that would make sense. Then again, that didn't explain why Keith had also denyed it so quickly . . .

"Oh, I was just . . . talking to Pidge." Allura half-smiled. "Though, I couldn've finished up with her a _lot_ quicker if _someone_ hadn't kept trying to talk to me."

Lance grinned , looking a little embarrassed. "Sorry! I just wanted to make sure you . . . you liked my food!"

Allura rolled her eyes. "Anyways . . . what sector are you two searching in?"

"I'm searching Z-2348, and Lance is on Z-2349. You can do Z-2350."

"Yes, okay . . . " Allura stationed herself next to Keith (and inbetween him and Lance) and began to study the system.

Coran walked into the center of the room, opened another starmap, and made an odd face. "Allura, I think that Galra whip is nearby . . . "

"What?!" Allura turned to look at him. "How far is it?"

"Close. It should be here in about a quintant."

Allura growled, "are you sure it's the same ship? We aren't even in the same system!"

"Well . . . it looks like it's the same model, and it's pretty badly damaged. It might be a different ship, though . . . I'm almost positive the other one was completely destroyed."

Lance felt a pain in his chest. He had been the one to command fire . . . the one that killed Pidge's family.

"Well, either way, it's Galra. We have to get out of here." Allura decided.

"But Allura," Keith argued, "it could be a rebel ship. I mean, Kolivan and all of the others left us to help their kind or something, right? And why else would it be so beat up?"

Allur paused. "We'll send a signal. We'll tell them to send their captin in unarmed."

"Okay," Lance agreed.

"Wait, how will it take them?" Keith asked.

"A Galra escape pod could get here in bout 36 of your Earth hours." Coran informed them.

"Okay. When they come, we'll be ready." Keith said, his tone intense.

Allura, Coran, and Lance nodded, looking determined.

They would be ready.

* * *

_Twenty-five hours_

* * *

Allura had informed Pidge and Hunk of the situation, and Pidge couldn't help but freak out. How were the Galra finding them so fast? It couldn't just be a coincidence . . . and after such a big blow? It didn't make sense.

Besides that, Pidge wasn't sure she was ready for another mission. She wasn't sure any of them were.

They sucked without Voltron.

Without Shiro . . .

Her doors opened. She had been making a sort of mini-memorial for her family, lighting a few candles and setting them around the photo she had of her and Matt. But now, hearing the doors open, she spun around.

It was Keith.

She'd been dreading this conversation all day.

"Hey," she said, looking down.

"Hi." Keith stepped into the room, the door closing automatically behind him. "So, um, about the . . . the mission."

"I know. I almost made us fail. I'm s--"

"No, PIdge," Keith touched Pidge's shoulder, "it wasn't your fault. I know you were just . . . desperate to save your brother."

Pidge nodded.

"But you did the right thing. I know it's tough, but we need to protect ourselves first, otherwise we won't be able to save anyone else."

"Mhm . . . " Pidge nodded half-heartedly.

"And you'll get over it. He might even still be alive, you never--"

"Keith," Pidge interrupted. "I can't just _get over it._ They're my family."

"I know, but you . . . you're gonna need to be strong. You're a Paladin of Voltron. Think of how many people are losing their families out there just like you. The difference is, they don't have the power to save them."

"Yeah, I know . . . but it still  . . . it still hurts . . . "

"I know, but we can't afford for you to be--"

"Can't _afford?_ So what, I'm not allowed to miss my brother?"

"Well, um . . . " Keith didn't know what to say.

"Unbelievable!" Pidge stepped back, Keith's arm practically going limp as it fell off her shoulder. "I shouldn't have expected you to get it anyways! You don't even _have_ a family! All you care about is Voltron and defending the universe and who's an _asset,_ but you don't think about actual _people_!"

"Th-that's not true!" Keith argued. "I'm just trying to focus on what's--"

" _Important?_ Oh, so the people I _love_ aren't imporant? I bet You don't even want to find Shiro! You just want to have the Black Paladin back!" Pidge was yelling now. Tears stung her eyes as she huffed, waiting for a response.

Keith growled, "you think I don't care? I only came to talk to you because I noticed you were still upset about it! And trust me, no one wants to get Shiro back more than me!" He was yelling, too. This wasn't going as he planned at all . . . "and I love people, too, you know! I'm fighting for them every battle!"

"Oh yeah? Because I'm pretty sure you've trained and messed around _way_ more than you've helped Allura with the search!" Pidge fired back.

"Says you! You and Allura played dress up for two hours instead of helping! And I've been training so I don't fail at being your freaking leader!"

"Leader?! You passed out during the mission! What kind of a leader does that?!"

"Well, sorry I can't be as perfect as Shiro!" Keith shouted, then stormed off. He needed to calm down. All he wanted to do was help Pidge. Instead, they had ended up screaming at each other.

One thing seemed for sure, though . . . Pidge did _not_ like Keith as leader.

* * *

Lance was . . . surprised, if anything.

He had just been minding his own business, eating some goo on one of the couches, when Keith had ran by, his breathing panicked. He ran towards the training room, Lance raising a brow in response.

What was wrong?

Lance figured he should go after Keith. After all, he kind of owed him for listening the other night . . . but what if Keith didn't want his help? What if he wanted to be alone? Or what if he just didn't want Lance around? What would Lance even say?

He guessed he just had to wing it.

So, with a semi-nervous sigh, Lance ran after him.

"Keith?" he called out, making his way towards the training deck.

Nobody answered. Keith was probably too far away to hear him, though. He was probably training already.

Lance neared the training deck, calling out once again, "Keith?"

Still no response.

Lance opened the door, and he saw Keith. He was already training, as Lance had suspected. He didn't seem to notice Lance coming in. He was fighting with a rage Lance had never seen before, yet his eyes were hollow. Like he was sad. Like he was confused. Like he was hurt.

"Keith," he called out once again.

Keith ignored him, his fighting getting sloppier. He slashed at one of the robots, the others surrounding him. Keith didn't stop, though. He kept slashing, and slicing, and slitting, looking like he might ever stop.

Lance's eyes widened as Keith fought, his rage unwavering. But he stopped. He stopped to breathe, as any normal person would. But that was when the trainingrobot made its move.

"Gah!" Keith grunted, being flung several feet backwards. The robot zoomed after him.

 _Lethal._ Lance remembered. Keith trained on lethal now.

Lance lunged forward, tackling the robot from behind. He had no weapons, no armor, but he didn't care. He pushed the robot over, though he wasn't very good at it. He was used to shooting things from far away, not tackling them.

But it was enough to give Keith an opening. He jabbed his Bayard into the robot, and it dissolved into nothingness.

Keith turned to Lance, and both were breathing heavily. "Turn training simulation off," he commanded to the the room, the two standing up.

"You okay?" Lance asked.

"Yeah," Keith nodded. "Thanks."

Lance shook his head, "no, I mean . . . are you _okay_ okay? You seem really . . . tense."

"Tense? Me? Never . . . " Keith said, his tone half-joking.

"Keith, come on. People don't just run through the halls to go train like . . . like _this_ for no reason." Lance gestured towards the room, and towarDs him as he said that, his eyebrows crinkled in worry.

"Well . . . " Keith sighed. "I _tried_ to talk to Pidge .  . a-about the mission . . . "

"Oh . . . what happened?" Lance cautiously stepped forward.

"Well . . . I dunno, we just ended up arguing . . . really loudly . . . I said she had to be strong, and she said I didn't care about anyone . . . " it almost hurt Keith to confess like this. "That all I cared about was . . . was who was an asset."

"Oh . . . " Lance said once again. "Well . . . you know she's just angry, saying things she doesn't mean."

"No, she's not. I can tell, that's the way she thinks of me."

Lance bit his lip, then put his hand on Keith's shoulder. "Then you'll just have to prove her wrong."

Keith's eyes darted to the gesture, heart beating fast. Toching people's shoulders was something he did all the time, but when Lance did it, it felt . . . different. More sincere.

To be honest, it kinda freaked Keith out. To add to it all, the room yet again seemed to get smaller. Why did this keep happening? Why was every little conversation so . . . so _intense_ all of a sudden?

So . . . Keith freaked out. He tensed, stepping back. Lance looked, hurt, as if his presense was not wanted. Keith's expression might have seemed disgusted, but he was really just internally screaming, getting more freaked out at Lance's expression. Keith turned away, picking up the Bayard he had left on the floor.

"I'm gonna train some more, if you don't mind." He said, obviously wanting to be alone.

Lance look to his hand for a split second, then back to Keith, frowning. "Yeah, okay . . . "

Lance walked way, biting his lip. He had been as sincere as he could have been . . . nothing he said should have done any harm . . . yet, it still did. He didn't know how, or why, but he'd screwed up once again.

Just like he did with everything.

Especially the ones he cared about.

He always let them down . . .

That was why nobody wanted him around . . .

He was a failure.

A failure of a Paladin.

A failure of a pilot.

A failure of a person.

Why did he always have to come to this conclusion? Did that just make it more true? Was it even true at all?

Lance didn't know.

But he thought it was true.

And that was the only thing that mattered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're welcome :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it so far! (Sorry in advance for Klance that's as slow burn as it is in the show, but I find it's more realistic that way!)  
> So . . . what do you guys think? Please tell me what you think in the comments! Constructive criticism is accepted and encouraged!


End file.
